Federated Farmers of NZ is "clearly out of touch with markets" in their opposition to councils' plans to introduce tighter regulation for genetically modified organisms, says Pure Hawke's Bay (PHB) spokesman Bruno Chambers.

Mr. Chambers said the PHB coalition of regional food producers seeking to improve the region's global reputation for safe, sustainable, high quality food production had proposed securing GM free food producer status through local authority planning, for l0 years.

"We had a meeting with the President, Bruce Wills, who said that Federated Farmers would not stand in the way of the Pure Hawke's Bay initiative, so it surprises me that Federated Farmers are taking the position they have."

"They are basically out of touch with the markets. NZ relies on premium markets- our future is not with low-price commodity markets," he said.

Environment Minister Amy Adams recently announced that hazardous substances and new organisms were comprehensively regulated on a national basis and councils should not use the Resource Management Act (RMA) to set up their own independent regulatory frameworks.

However, like some other regions, the Hawke's Bay coalition believes that the Environmental Protection Authority has no mandate to protect regions, regional rands or regional returns.

Mr. Chambers said it was a pity that the federation's representative on the subject, Wililam Rolleston, was entrenched in an ideological position.

new report: An overview of genetic modification in New Zealand 1973-2013: the first forty years

excellent new report/ expose (from the McGuiness Institute in Wellington) of how the NZ government has failed to implement many of the key useful recommendations from the Royal Commission into Genetic Modification

An overview of genetic modification in New Zealand 1973-2013: the first forty years 29 August 2013

This report argues that strategically, New Zealand is no further ahead on public policy regarding outdoor use of GMOs than it was when the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification reported its findings in 2001.

Govt coalition partners reject RMA proposal

National had the support of Act for the bill, which is still being drafted, but needed one more vote to get it over the line. Photo / Getty Images

Prime Minister John Key has underlined the importance of speeding up building consents to make homes more affordable after the Government's major reforms of the Resource Management Act hit a roadblock.

Mr Key admitted the proposed RMA legislation would need to be changed after National's support parties United Future and the Maori Party made a rare, joint statement of opposition to the reforms.

National had the support of Act for the bill, which is still being drafted, but needed one more vote to get it over the line.

The Mori Party and United Future have decided that they cannot support the governments latest proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, and have written to Environment Minister Amy Adams to outline their concerns.EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:00 am, WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 201311 September 2013

RMA changes strike a rock

The Māori Party and United Future have decided that they cannot support the government’s latest proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, and have written to Environment Minister Amy Adams to outline their concerns.

“The changes do far more than rebalance the Act to make consenting procedures more efficient. We say the changes to remove emphasis on the ‘maintenance and enhancement of the quality of the environment’ fundamentally rewrite the Act and put a spanner in the works of the legal system, that will take years of litigation to fix up,” said Tariana Turia and Peter Dunne.

“The Resource Management Act was designed to ensure that our use of natural resources is sustainable. Changes to Part Two, which enshrine the driving principles, undermine the whole purpose of the Act,” said Mrs Turia.